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Iowa Learning Farms Hosts Field Day on Patch-burn Grazing

AMES, Iowa — Iowa Learning Farms will host a field day near Kellerton beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 23. The field day will focus on the benefits of patch-burn grazing and the multi-state Restoration Ecology in Working Landscapes project.

The field day will feature Jim Miller, associate professor at the University of Illinois, and Diane Debinski, Iowa State University professor with the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, who will define patch-burn grazing and talk about why it is beneficial to cattle as well as the wildlife in the pasture habitat. They also will talk about the multi-state project, conducted at this site and other nearby areas, looking at the effects of patch-burn grazing compared to traditional grazing and the use of fire without grazing. The Restoration Ecology in Working Landscapes project works with local landowners in southern Iowa and northern Missouri to examine their perspective on the use of fire and grazing as management tools. For more information about this project, visit the website: www.nrem.iastate.edu/research/patchburn/index.html.

The field day includes a complimentary lunch. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. The field day site is near Kellerton in eastern Ringgold County. The pastures are located two miles west of Kellerton on Highway 2. Turn south on 300th Avenue, drive through the Kellerton Grasslands area 1.5 miles. Parking is in the pull-off area and alongside 300th Avenue.

Iowa Learning Farms takes a grassroots approach offering innovative ways to help all Iowans have an active role in keeping our state’s natural resources healthy and not take them for granted. A goal of Iowa Learning Farms is to build a culture of conservation, encouraging the adoption of residue management and conservation practices. Farmers, researchers and ILF team members are working together to identify and implement the best in-field management practices that increase water and soil quality while remaining profitable.